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Chris Ellis

Orioles Claim Chris Ellis, Designate Cesar Valdez For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve claimed righty Chris Ellis off waivers from the Rays and designated right-hander Cesar Valdez for assignment. Meanwhile, left-hander Ryan Hartman, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk.

Ellis, 28, pitched four shutout innings with seven strikeouts against the Orioles earlier this week. The Rays had selected him to the MLB roster in order to get a fresh arm in the ’pen, but it proved to be a one-off appearance for Ellis in spite of that fine work. The O’s, who currently have the game’s worst record, have top priority on the waiver wire.

Ellis has had a rough season in Triple-A, pitching to a 6.32 ERA in 57 innings with below-average strikeout and walk rates and 14 home runs allowed. He’s had a rough couple of seasons in Triple-A but has had some success at that level in the past and comes to the Orioles with a bit of pedigree. He’s a former third-round pick and well-regarded prospect who was included in a pair of trades for notable big leaguers (Andrelton Simmons and Jaime Garcia), and the Royals liked him enough to select him in the Rule 5 Draft back in the 2018-19 offseason as well.

The Orioles are a good landing spot for a pitcher like Ellis, who has had some success in the upper minors but has yet to get much of a real look in the Majors. The O’s can afford to give him a look in the rotation or try him out of the bullpen if they like. Ellis also has all three minor league options remaining, so he can give them flexibility both now and in future seasons — if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Valdez, 36, became the Orioles’ unlikely closer after signing a minor league deal in January 2020 and working his way back to the Major Leagues for the first time since 2017. His career arc has been atypical, to say the least, as Valdez debuted as a 25-year-old in 2010 and then did not appear in the Majors again until that 2017 return. The 2020-21 seasons mark the first time that he’s ever pitched in consecutive MLB seasons. Between MLB stints, he’s pitched professionally in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Taiwan.

Valdez didn’t simply return to the big leagues in 2020 — he thrived. Upon debuting with the Orioles, he pitched 14 1/3 innings and held opponents to two earned runs on seven hits and three walks with a dozen strikeouts. His success carried into 2021, too, at least in the early portion of the season. Valdez pitched to a 2.50 ERA with a sterling 21-to-4 K/BB ratio through his first 18 innings this season, accumulating eight saves along the way. Valdez found that success in spite of a “fastball” that barely averages 85 mph, relying heavily on a 78 mph changeup he refers to as the “dead fish.”

It’s been a swift decline since late May, however. Valdez was tagged for three runs in consecutive outings late in May and hasn’t been able to right the ship. Dating back to May 24, Valdez has pitched 27 1/3 innings and allowed a whopping 24 runs on 41 hits (including eight homers) and nine walks with 23 strikeouts.

It’s possible another club will take a look at Valdez on outright waivers, as he’s not yet arbitration eligible. He’s out of minor league options, though, meaning any club who does place a claim will need to carry him on the active roster or else try to pass him through waivers a second time before being able to send him down.

Rays Designate Chris Ellis For Assignment

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The Rays have designated right-hander Chris Ellis for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the 26-man and 40-man rosters will go to lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who has been reinstated from the Covid-19-related injured list.

It’s surely a bitter pill to swallow for Ellis, who was selected to the big league roster just two days ago and promptly pitched four brilliant innings in his lone appearance with the club. The righty picked up his first big league win in yesterday’s game when he tossed the final four innings of the game and held Baltimore scoreless on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.

That said, Ellis has had a rough go of it in Triple-A this year, which made his promotion to the big league roster look likely to be a short-term stint. In 15 appearances (13 starts) with the Rays’ top affiliate in Durham, Ellis has posted a 6.32 ERA with slightly below-average strikeout and walk rates. He’s also served up 14 home runs in just 57 innings of work thus far in Triple-A.

Ellis, now 28 years old, had a strong Triple-A season in 2018 but has been hit hard both in 2019 and 2020 at that level. Still, he’s a former third-round pick (Angels, 2014) who has been well-regarded enough to be included in a pair of trades involving notable big leaguers — Andrelton Simmons and  Jaime Garcia — and was a Rule 5 Draft pick as recently as the 2018-19 offseason. The Rays will now place him on outright waivers or release waivers, giving all 29 other clubs the opportunity to claim him.

Rays Select Chris Ellis

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The Rays announced they’ve selected right-hander Chris Ellis to the big leagues. Fellow righty DJ Johnson has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40–man roster, while southpaw Ryan Sherriff was optioned to Triple-A Durham to clear active roster space.

Ellis was originally a third-round pick of the Angels in 2014. A fairly well-regarded pitching prospect early in his career, he was traded to the Braves (as part of the Andrelton Simmons deal) and then to the Cardinals (as part of the return for Jaime García). He never made it to the majors with St. Louis, but he did log one big league appearance with the 2019 Royals as a Rule 5 pick.

Signed to a minor league deal over the winter, Ellis has spent the season with Triple-A Durham. He’s had a rough go of things in a hitter-friendly Triple-A environment, pitching to a 6.32 ERA over 15 appearances (13 starts). Ellis’ strikeout and walk rates (22.7% and 10.9%, respectively) are both a little worse than league average, but his biggest issue has been the home run ball. Ellis has coughed up 14 homers over 57 innings with the Bulls (a lofty 2.21 HR/9).

Ellis is at least stretched out, though, making him equipped to work multiple innings if needed. He’s worked five-plus innings in each of his four most recent starts with Durham, so he’ll serve as a swingman for a Rays pitching staff that has been hit hard by injuries this season. Ellis still has all three minor league option years remaining, so the Rays can move him back-and-forth between Tampa Bay and Durham without exposing him to waivers so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster.

The Rays acquired Johnson from the Indians just before the July 30 trade deadline. The 31-year-old only made three appearances with his new club before going down with the shoulder injury August 8, which manager Kevin Cash described at the time as “pretty severe.” Today’s transfer officially rules Johnson out for the remainder of the regular season. While he could technically return for a Tampa Bay postseason run, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s instead shut down for the year altogether.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/20/20

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The latest minor transactions from around the sport…

Latest Updates

  • Earlier this week, the Rays signed right-hander Chris Ellis to a minor league deal, as originally reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Originally a third-round pick for the Angels in the 2014 draft, Ellis was part of the trade package that brought Andrelton Simmons to Los Angeles back in November 2015.  The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA, 2.10 K/BB rate, and 8.5 K/9 over 645 1/3 career minor league innings for three different organizations (the Angels, Braves, and Cardinals), and he also had a cup of coffee in the big leagues with the Royals in 2019, appearing in one game.

Earlier Today

  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Jefry Rodríguez to a minor-league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The 27-year-old originally signed with the Nats as an international amateur from the Dominican Republic. He was traded to Cleveland in the November 2018 Yan Gomes deal. Rodríguez posted a 5.20 ERA with underwhelming strikeout (16.5%) and walk (13.3%) rates in 98.2 MLB innings from 2018-19. He spent last season at the Indians’ alternate training site, where he strained his shoulder in September. Cleveland non-tendered him earlier this month.
  • The Mariners announced they signed reliever Drew Steckenrider earlier this month (h/t to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America). The 29-year-old broke into the majors with a pair of productive seasons with the Marlins but went down early in 2019 with a season-ending flexor strain. He spent all of 2020 on the injured list and was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster in October. The right-hander turns 30 in January.

Chris Ellis, Oscar Hernandez Among Cardinals’ Minor League Releases

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Right-hander Chris Ellis and catcher Oscar Hernandez were among the 33 minor leaguers released by the Cardinals in the final week of May, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports (Twitter thread). Right-hander Johnny Hellweg was also cut loose. Jones’ thread has additional names from each level of the Cardinals’ system, though none of the bunch has any MLB experience.

Each of Ellis, Hernandez and Hellweg has had a fleeting look at the Majors. Ellis was a Rule 5 pick of the Royals in 2018 and subsequently tossed one inning in Kansas City last year before being returned to the Cards. The 27-year-old has been moved in a pair of notable trades, going from the Angels to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons swap before being flipped from Atlanta to St. Louis a year later in the Jaime Garcia deal. (The Braves also sent John Gant and Luke Dykstra to the Cards in that deal.) Ellis had a nice year between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018, but he was rocked for a 7.18 ERA in 79 Triple-A frames in 2019.

Hernandez himself was once a top pick in the Rule 5 Draft, going from the Rays to the D-backs in 2014. He appeared in 22 games with Arizona but hit just .167/.239/.262 in 47 plate appearances. Now 26 years old, Hernandez signed a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp this winter. Despite a solid defensive reputation, he’s managed just a .210/.279/.336 slash in parts of three Triple-A campaigns.

Hellweg, 31, was once a rather well-regarded prospect himself. Originally a 16th-round pick by the Angels (2008), he was in the midst of a solid 2012 campaign at the Double-A level when the Halos flipped him, Jean Segura and Ariel Pena to the Brewers to rent ace Zack Greinke. He was hit hard in 30 2/3 frames with the Brewers and hasn’t pitched in the Majors since the 2013 season. Since then, he’s spent time with the Padres and the Pirates in addition to stints in the independent Canadian-American Association and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Like Hernandez, he’d inked a minor league deal with the Cards this winter.

Royals Return Chris Ellis To Cardinals

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The Royals announced Tuesday that Rule 5 pick Chris Ellis has cleared waivers and returned to the Cardinals organization. The right-hander will head to a minor league affiliate (without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster), though the Cardinals’ announcement of the move did not specify the affiliate to which Ellis is headed.

Ellis, 26, was a roster casualty when the Royals selected the contract of Homer Bailey. Though Kansas City manager Ned Yost stated that the organization tried to get as long a look as possible at Ellis, he was designated for assignment after just one scoreless outing to begin the season. Ellis was hit hard during Spring Training, though, allowing 10 runs on 16 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts through 10 Cactus League frames.

Originally a third-round pick of the Angels back in 2014, Ellis went to the Braves alongside Sean Newcomb in the Andrelton Simmons blockbuster before making his way to the Cardinals in the trade that sent Jaime Garcia to Atlanta. He was torched in his first two brief exposures to the Triple-A level but had a solid season there in 2018 when he pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 79 innings of work. He’ll likely head back to Triple-A Memphis to continue working toward a spot with the Cards at the MLB level.

Royals Select Homer Bailey, Designate Chris Ellis

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The Royals have selected the contract of righty Homer Bailey, who’ll slide into the club’s rotation. To create roster space, righty Chris Ellis was designated for assignment.

Bailey, who’s a month from his 33rd birthday, will try to resurrect his career in Kansas City. He earned the chance after turning in 13 1/3 innings of 4.05 ERA ball in camp, with 7.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Once a quality rotation piece with the Reds, Bailey has struggled to a 6.25 ERA in just 231 2/3 innings over the past four seasons while dealing with significant arm issues.

As for Ellis, the 26-year-old just made his first MLB appearance after winning a spot out of camp as a Rule 5 pick. He’ll be offered back to the Cardinals if he isn’t claimed. Ellis has spent most of his time in the minors as a starter. Last year, he pitched to a 3.93 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 132 2/3 innings with the Cards’ top two affiliates.

On the face of things, this transaction isn’t a terribly significant one. Rule 5 picks are dropped with quite some frequency, after all, and veteran starters such as Bailey are often tapped for innings. But the Royals evidently found something to like in Ellis, with skipper Ned Yost saying that the club wanted to “give it a full look” because they liked his stuff. (Via Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star, on Twitter.) If that’s truly the case, it’s a bit odd that the organization couldn’t find room for Ellis on a roster that includes several low-upside veteran pitchers and a bizarre bench mix featuring two first basemen/designated hitters (Lucas Duda and Frank Schwindel, who supplement Ryan O’Hearn and Jorge Soler) and an outfielder who’s known almost exclusively as a pinch runner and defensive replacement (Terrance Gore).

Braves Acquire Jaime Garcia

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6:04pm: Both teams have announced the trade via press release.

5:20pm: The Braves have been one of the most active teams of the offseason thus far, and that continued on Thursday as the team reportedly struck a deal to acquire veteran lefty Jaime Garcia from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league infielder Luke Dykstra and young right-handers John Gant and Chris Ellis.

[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals Depth Chart and Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]

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Garcia, 30, has long been a steady member of the Cardinals’ rotation but struggled a bit in 2016, working to a career-worst 4.67 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a very strong 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 171 2/3 innings. He’s controllable only through the 2017 season, as the Cardinals exercised his $12MM option at season’s end. Despite the fact that St. Louis picked up that option, though, trading Garcia has long seemed like a highly plausible outcome. The Cards already have Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake and Alex Reyes in the fold in addition to right-handers Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn returning from injuries.

As for the Braves, Garcia will be the third veteran arm they’ve added to their rotation already this winter. He’ll join fellow newcomers Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey in the Braves’ rotation behind right-handers Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz. Like Colon and Dickey, Garcia is a one-year commitment that can function as a reasonable stopgap to upper-level arms in the Braves system like Sean Newcomb while also give young righties Aaron Blair and Matt Wisler, who have struggled in the Majors, additional time to develop in Triple-A.

Despite Garcia’s 2016 struggles, he’ll bring to the Braves a career 3.57 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate in 896 innings as a Major Leaguer. Shoulder injuries have limited him throughout his career, and he missed time with a groin strain as well in 2016, but he’s averaged 151 innings in 2015-16 and made a total of 50 starts in that time.

While the Braves have been connected to Chris Sale and other front-of-the-rotation names in trade chatter, the addition of Garcia lessens the chances of that hope becoming a reality for Atlanta fans, though it doesn’t eliminate the possibility. Both Mark Bowman of MLB.com and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports note (Twitter links) that the Braves still intend to pursue front-line starters. The rotation certainly looks full at the moment, but it’s possible that as a young right-hander with a fair bit of MLB experience under his belt, Foltynewicz himself could be added to a trade package to help bring in a significant upgrade (though that’s merely speculation).

Each of Ellis (No. 17), Gant (No. 21) and Dykstra (No. 29) appeared on MLB.com’s midseason list of the Braves’ Top 30 prospects. Ellis, who turned 24 in September, was acquired with Newcomb in last year’s Andrelton Simmons trade. The former third-rounder posted a strong 2.75 ERA in 78 innings at the Double-A level this year, averaging 7.0 strikeouts against 4.0 walks per nine innings before moving up to the Triple-A level. He struggled in 67 2/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett, though, working to a 6.52 ERA. He did register an improved 8.6 K/9 mark, though he also averaged 6.9 walks per nine innings there as well. MLB.com’s report on Ellis notes that he has the size, strength and repertoire to become a No. 4 starter with three average to above-average offerings but slightly below-average command.

Gant, also 24, was acquired from the Mets in the 2015 Kelly Johnson/Juan Uribe trade and made his MLB debut last year, totaling 50 innings with a 4.86 ERA. Gant logged 49 strikeouts against 21 walks with a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. He also worked to a 4.18 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 56 Triple-A innings. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com call Gant’s fastball, changeup and curveball each an average offering but also note that he has a tremendous feel for pitching. Nonetheless, they peg his ceiling as a back-end starter, albeit one that could conceivably join the Cardinals’ staff immediately out of Spring Training if necessary.

Dykstra, the son of former Mets/Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra, is a 21-year-old middle infielder that the Braves plucked with their seventh-round pick back in 2014. He went through his second stint in the Class-A South Atlantic League in 2016, hitting .304/.332/.363 with no homers and seven stolen bases in 81 games. Callis and Mayo call him a fringe defender with an average arm and note the he hasn’t shown any power to this point in his career, but his hit tool draws strong marks — and that skill is reflected in his career .300/.335/.385 batting line through parts of three minor league seasons.

ESPN’s Mark Saxon first reported that Garcia had been traded to the Braves. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported (on Twitter) that three prospects were going to St. Louis in exchange. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Dykstra and Ellis were in the deal (Twitter link). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported Gant was the third piece (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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